One hundred and fifty-six people have been killed so far in riots in Urumqi, the capital of China’s western-most region of Xinjiang, according to state media and local reports. The Beijing government is now facing the worst unrest in China’s ethnic minority areas since the rioting in Tibet last March.

The unrest erupted at the weekend after armed police confronted an anti-discrimination protest by ethnic Uighurs, who are the region’s indigenous, largely Muslim residents.